New motorcycle test will be deferred by six months

"Following a recent meeting between the Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, DSA officials and motorcycle interest groups, DSA has announced that the introduction of the new motorcycle test will be deferred by six months to Monday 30 March 2009.  This deferment will allow DSA to deliver a wider range of locations to offer the new test."

These are the words from the DVLA regarding the proposed changes to the motorcycle test that have been in the pipeline for a while now. The updates to the test have been controversial to say the least and a number of riding instructors are unhappy with the additional procedures required in order to pass, to quote a riding instructor from Sheffield "we have the space to lay out a copy of the new test and even our instructors struggled with it"

The new motorcycle test aims to improve the standard of road safety for motorcycle and moped riders. This user group has been identified as having a high risk of injury or death, this is particularly the case for young and inexperienced riders.

The new test event will contain two elements. The higher speed exercises and other exercises will be tested on safe off-road sites and take about 10 minutes to complete. The accompanied on road element of the test will follow, consisting of a road ride covering a variety of road and traffic conditions and will also include normal stops, hill and angle starts.  Candidates who have demonstrated riding skills of a dangerously incompetent level during the off-road part of the test will not be permitted to proceed to the on-road element.

These new exercises include:

    * At least two exercises carried out at slow speed, including a slalom
    * At least two exercises  carried out at higher speed, of which one exercise should be in second or third gear, at a speed of at least 30 kph (approx. 19 mph) and one exercise avoiding an obstacle at a minimum speed of 50 kph (approx. 32 mph)
    * At least two braking exercises, including an emergency brake at a minimum speed of 50 kph (approx. 32 mph)

On the day of the test, candidates will be asked by the examiner to demonstrate their riding ability on either the left-hand or right-hand circuit.  Please note that the standard off-road layout may change due to local conditions on the casual sites.

It has been clear for some time that the motorcycling community has been opposed to the new test and with the news of the postponement comes a general feeling of incompetancy towards the DVLA who have had plenty of time to get enough test centres opened up and yet still managed to fail spectacularly.